Basketball: (n) a game played between two teams of five players in which goals are scored by throwing a ball through a netted hoop
I was the fattest kid in my class.
It is a distinction without appreciation.
But I liked basketball.
I started playing it when I was seven years old with another kid who ended up being a champion at hoops. So I was fairly good–especially for a fat boy.
But I did not look like a basketball player. This was troublesome to folks–because talent needs more than ability. It requires a “look.”
Basketball players are meant to be tall and skinny.
I was 5 foot 11—in every direction.
So when I joined the team there was a chuckle and a cynical ripple among my peers. When I competed, there was some amusement.
And when I made the first string, there were those who were astounded that there was nobody to beat me out, and grown-ups who thought I might run up and down the court and have a heart attack.
It’s been this way for me in everything in my life:
- I am not an attractive man, so some of my friends thought I would never procure a woman.
- I have short, stubby fingers, so most people thought it would be impossible for me to play piano.
- I never went to college, so how do I have the audacity to compose and write?
More often than not, we require the “look” of basketball along with the skill.
And as fans, we often are not satisfied unless all the visuals are present … to accompany the slam dunk.
Thank you for enjoying Words from Dic(tionary) — J.R. Practix
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Words from Dic(tionary) 